The Traveling Widower

Tag: Airlines

  • Yet Another Shutdown #@!!%!

    A long line of travelers waiting in an airport terminal near a security checkpoint. This was the start of the line in terminal E at the Houston airport (IAH)

    March 19th, 2026

    I seem to be jinxed on air and auto travel. This is the third time now that I’ve had one of my travel adventures during some kind of government shutdown. The last time, was Antarctica, and there was a good chance that my flights could have been cancelled due to the TSA shutdown. I lucked out on that one, after stressing out looking for alternatives to getting to LA for the international flight. Then there was another shutdown, where all the rest stops on the main highways were shuttered. That was difficult for anyone with bladder issues. And here we are again…..another TSA shutdown, and chaos at the major hubs. The one thing I REALLY DO NOT NEED on this trip is stress. Right.

    It takes two flights to get to Panama City from Sacramento – I opted to stay overnight in Houston, so flew in yesterday. That was an easy flight, until I tried checking in for the flight from IAH to Panama City. For some obscure reason, United would not let me check-in – apparently, I needed some document to prove that I was going to leave Panama, since I was flying back from Costa Rica. United had my reservations, but knew nothing about the National Geographic cruise. My first reason to stress-out on the trip. I called United, and they said I just needed to check-in the next day and everything would be fine. Sure. Do I look like someone that believes that foreign countries are paying the tariffs? The National Geographic travel agent was pretty sure that’s all I needed to do as well. That did not help either – I’m a glass half empty kind of guy. So I worried during the entire flight from SMF to Houston. And then I had to walk about a mile to get to the United check-in lobby, to try and get things worked out. This is a huge airport. Fortunately, I found a helpful agent who magically got me checked-in. Stress relieved. Another long walk and short train ride and I made it to the Marriott for the night. I really could have used a martini. I had gelato instead. Almost as good. 

    My flight for Panama City was scheduled for 9:30 the next morning, so I figured I’d start heading over to the international terminal (hey, I was traveling to another country….seemed like the right place to go). I checked the TSA site, which had a 15 minute wait to get through security, so I figured maybe leave around 6:45 to get to the terminal.  I woke up early for a change (sarcasm…I always get up too early), and headed down to the train station, to get to Terminal E. Baggage check-in was a snap, then I turned around to head to security. Yikes!! The line was endless. But wait….it got worse.

    Busy airport terminal with a long check-in line, displaying multiple screens and travelers waiting.

    As I moved along this first line, the entire mass of humanity waiting to get through security came into view. There were separate TSA Pre and Clear lines, merged together for some reason, but the all the lines seemed to be crawling along at the same speed. But at least they were moving. After a while, someone from Clear separated their customers from the TSA Pre line, so that moved us ahead a bit. Still a long line. What a mess. Not a problem for me since I had a lot of time before my flight, but I wound up letting some young woman cut in front, who only had a few minutes to catch her plane. I told her to look for kind people who would let her cut further ahead, but she was too shy. I would have done that. 

    A large crowd of travelers waiting in line at an airport terminal, with various individuals carrying luggage and wearing different types of clothing.
    A crowded airport terminal with a long line of travelers waiting in line, colorful decorations hanging above them.

    Eventually, I made it through after about 30 minutes or so. The main problem was at the TSA end – there were only two luggage scan stations out of about 15 that were staffed. Quite the bottleneck. A big thank you to the US Congress. The only good news is that everyone seemed to be taking this mess in stride (a slight pun, not intended) – most everyone quietly suffered. And nobody blamed the TSA workers, just our ineffective government.

    After all that, I looked down at my boarding pass and realized I was in the wrong terminal. My flight left from Terminal C, not E. So, I opted for the long walk rather than taking the train. I needed to stretch my legs. And like most airports, there was lots of cool and strange artwork along the endless corridors.

    An airport hallway with travelers walking, one with a luggage cart. The area features bright lighting, polished floors, and large windows providing natural light.
    A circular window featuring vibrant artwork of marine life, including fish and underwater plants, framed by intricate designs and patterns.
    Sculpture titled 'Lost in Thought' by Clara Hoag, featuring a head made of glazed and fired clay, adorned with colorful painted brick-like structures, displayed in an airport setting.

    I ended my airport excursion  at the United Red Carpet Club – international first class does have some useful privileges. On to Panama! It’s got to get less stressful once I get there.

  • Leaving Ushuaia (Pronounced OoShwayA)

    November 28th, 2025

    Scenic view of a coastal town with mountains in the background, reflecting in calm waters under a cloudy sky.

    It’s always hard leaving a ship you’ve been on for a while. You sort of feel like you are leaving home for college. You’ve had all these people waiting on you for your every need – making the bed, cleaning the bathroom, feeding you, providing alcoholic beverages all day long. Then all of a sudden, you are thrown out to the world on your own. A sad moment. Who is going to feed me and do my laundry?

    A scenic view of a calm lake reflecting the sky, with dramatic clouds and sunlight breaking through, highlighting distant mountains.

    We all had to have our checked luggage outside our door at 6:30AM, and then had an hour to kill having our last breakfast. You sort of feel like you have to eat everything in the buffet line, in case you are never fed again that day. Fortunately, they did not provide alcoholic beverages. That would have been a bad start to a day of travel. 

    Close-up of the hull of a ship with the words 'National Geographic Resolution' painted in large yellow letters.

    After breakfast, we said our goodbyes to the staff, and were trundled off to buses once again for a short drive to the Ushuaia Maritime Museum to kill and hour before we were bused over to a hotel hospitality room. The museum turned out to be one of those surprises we seemed to have all the time on this trip. Ushuaia’s claim to fame, other than being at the end of the world, was being the home of a huge prison. Argentina started building the National Prison in 1902, and it was completed by prisoners in 1920 and housed upwards of 600 prisoners until it was closed in 1947. The prisoners were put to good use, maintaining the prison and building infrastructure for the town of Ushuaia including a railroad.  

    It was fun walking through the different wings of the prison. One wing was in the original state, unchanged. It was grim – made Alcatraz seem like a Ritz-Carleton. The cells were all tiny, none had en-suite toilets or sinks, and heating was from wood burning stoves in the corridor. There were not enough to heat that large area, so it must have been a freezer in the winter. There was a common bathroom at the end of the wing. Not much in the way of privacy.

    Interior view of a long, narrow corridor with wooden beams and a skylight, showing a weathered ceiling and dim lighting, with people at the far end.
    Interior view of an old prison corridor with high ceilings, featuring barred windows and metal supports, where two people are walking down the center.
    Interior view of an industrial-looking room with concrete troughs and sinks, featuring large windows and a door in the background.
    An empty, dimly lit room with peeling paint on the walls and a small barred window, revealing a stark interior with concrete flooring.
    Interior view of a long, dimly lit hallway with weathered walls and old doors in a historical building.

    All the other wings had been modernized and turned into museum displays. One wing had the history of the prison, with different stories in each of the cells. There was a maritime museum in another wing which I’d loved to have spent more time in – tons of information on the early history of this area, with descriptions of each of the ships that explored the Antarctic. And of course there was a gift shop. None for me thank you. I’m trying desperately to declutter my house. I bought a ball cap from the ship’s gift shop. That was it for the four trips I’ve been on with NatGeo/Lindblad.

    The prison history museum was interesting – each cell told a story about the prison, and some had sad looking prisoners.

    A prison cell featuring a simple bed with gray bedding and a seated lifelike statue of an elderly man in a blue coat, sitting on a wooden stool.

    I’m not exactly sure what this was supposed to represent. The roped off hole was apparently an escape tunnel. Your guess is as good as mine.

    A sculptural installation of a figure resembling a man in formal wear, appearing to emerge from a black wall, set in a room with wooden flooring.

    I could easily have spent a few hours at the museum, but we were on a tight schedule, and were bussed to the Hotel Albatross. Where of course there was more food. A bunch of my fellow travelers walked across the street to the local tourist center, where you could get your passport stamped for Argentina (with a penguin) – but we were told before I headed out the door that it was not an official passport stamp which could invalidate your passport. I played it safe.

    A view of multiple cruise ships docked at a harbor under a clear blue sky, with calm waters in the foreground.

    On the bus ride to the hotel, we passed the wharf where the Resolution was docked – there were now four large cruise ships either loading or unloading. One was for Quark Exploration, which I’m considering signing up for their Falkland Islands/South Georgia Island cruise in 2027. I’d prefer NatGeo/Lindblad, but their current trips include Antarctica along with the other two stops. I’m not interested in a shortened version of the trip we just completed. So I may have more penguin themed posts in two years. Mark that date on you calendars. 

    Which reminds me – a bit of a side note here. Someone mentioned to me the night before we disembarked the ship, that Lindblad had loyalty program, which I had never seen mentioned in any of their catalogs. It turns out that you have to be invited to join, and that only happens on rare occasions. I spoke with the Lindblad representative, and he mentioned that National Geographic has it’s own loyalty program, and you need to have completed two cruises and one land based expeditions to qualify. Let’s see….I have four cruises, and will meet the qualifications this summer when I complete the Iceland trip in June. Cool. It will be nice to get some discounts given the number of trips I plan to take.

    The remainder of our exit from the tip of South America, continued with the standard follow-the-leader process, where the tour guides managed all the steps, from loading the buses, and then leading us through the security at the little Ushuaia airport. Since this was a charter flight, we even left earlier than scheduled. I wound up on the same seat, with the same person next to me. Deja Vu all over again. Once we land in Santiago, and get through customs, we are on our own. I’m sure there will be some others on the flight to Atlanta, but that will be the official end of the NatGeo/Lindblad trip. School’s over. 

    And I did make a new friend on this trip at long last. I think his name was 12556. Seemed kind of stiff though – maybe he should have had a massage on the ship.

    A lifelike statue of a prisoner in striped clothing, standing at an open gate, with a visitor posing next to it.

    I might as well keep this going. Most everyone who was on the flight to Santiago has a much later flight back to the US, somewhere in the 9PM-11PM range. We arrived early, around 4:30, so we all have a lot of time to kill. What stinks is that the airlines do not open up check-in until 3 hours before the flight, so you are stuck with your bags, and cannot get access to the airline lounges which are past security. Catch-22. And, there are no lounges with places to charge your devices – just a lot of restaurants. Drinking for 4 or 5 hours does not sound like a good idea to me. But, I explored and found a very small private lounge – for $65, there’s WiFi, charging stations, nice places to sit, and all kinds of food (which I don’t need). Worst airport ever.

    Definitely the worst. People start queuing up before the airlines open up the check-in counters, so by the time their staff finally get set-up, the lines are enormous. Once you get your bags checked, you have to go through customs and security again and the lines snake around multiple times. And then you have a mile walk to get to the gate. 

    A crowded airport check-in area with long lines of travelers waiting at Delta counters, featuring digital displays and luggage carts.

    Might as well complete this thread. The flight from Santiago was wonderful – I even managed to get four hours of sleep. The bed pods in 1st class are almost comfortable. And the Atlanta airport worked out pretty well – compared to Santiago, even LAX would seem efficient. The flight from Atlanta to Sacramento was 5 hours, and seemed like 10. I slept a little, but was completely exhausted. I capped the flight off with a bad leg cramp. My body did not want to be in an airplane anymore. A very long journey this was. I think I’ll stay home for a few weeks. Or at least just travel domestically. I might go to Denver over Christmas. I think I can handle that. 

    So many good memories from this trip. They should last a long time.